"Can Anyone Explain? (No! No! No!)" is a popular song written by

Bennie Benjamin Claude August "Bennie" Benjamin (November 4, 1907 – May 2, 1989) was a Virgin Islands-born American songwriter. He had particularly successful songwriting partnerships with Sol Marcus, with whom he wrote "I Don't Want To Set The World On F ...

and

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

and published in 1950. The biggest hit version of the song was recorded by

the Ames Brothers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. The recording was made on May 17, 1950, and released by

Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head of ...

as catalog number 60253. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on August 4, 1950, and lasted 19 weeks on the chart, peaking at number five. Another version which made the chart was by

Ray Anthony Raymond Antonini (born January 20, 1922), known as Ray Anthony, is an American bandleader, trumpeter, songwriter, and actor. He is the last surviving member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Biography Anthony was born to an Italian family in Ben ...

's orchestra (vocal: Ronnie Deauville and The Skyliners). The recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1131. The record reached the ''Billboard'' chart on September 2, 1950 and lasted 13 weeks on the charts, also peaking at number five. Other versions that appeared on the singles chart: *

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

on July 25, 1950 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 38927. Shore's was number 29, charting one week on September 16, 1950. *

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

and Louis Armstrong, was recorded on August 25, 1950, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 27209. Theirs charted November 18, 1950 at number 30 for one week. *

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

charted October 14, 1950 at number 25 for one week on Mercury 5477. *Larry Green and his Orchestra (vocal: The Honeydreamers) charted October 21, 1950 at number 28 for one week on RCA Victor 47-3902. *

Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentinian singer and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, television host, ...

with Four Hits and a Miss on September 9, 1950 for two weeks, peaking at number 23 on Decca 27161.

Other versions

* Gene Ammons - recorded for Chess Records (catalog No. 1433) in August 1950. *

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...

and his Orchestra. Included on the album ''Can Anyone Explain'' (1984). *

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

and his Quartet - recorded August 25, 1950. *Jan & Kjeld (1960)

References

{{authority control 1950 songs Songs written by Bennie Benjamin Songs written by George David Weiss Ames Brothers songs Vic Damone songs Nat King Cole songs